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CBS 60 minutes

The morning of November 8th, a massive wildfire tore through California mountain communities north of Sacramento. Because it started near Camp Creek Road, it was called “The Camp Fire.” The cause is still under investigation. But within a couple of hours it devoured the town of Paradise – population 27,000. About 95 percent of Paradise was lost; its smaller neighbors, Concow and Magalia, were all but destroyed.

Until now, last year’s wildfire in California’s wine country was the worst on record in the state. The federal climate report released last month warns increasing extreme heat and drought conditions could make future wildfires even worse. Tonight, we’ll take you into the Camp Fire and show you what the firefighters saw. That video and the destruction had us wondering how anything could be worse.

This is Paradise, or what remains of it. Block after ashen block of burned houses and ruined lives. Three weeks ago, children played here, people shopped here and families prayed here. The wildfire that roared through paradise was as random as it was merciless. In just a few, terrifying hours it killed about 90 people and destroyed almost 19,000 buildings, businesses and homes. Paradise sits in the heart of Butte County. On the morning of November 8th, County Sheriff and Coroner Kory Honea woke up and saw an ominous glow. He knew it was a fire and it was heading his way.

Bill Whitaker: So at what point in the morning did you realize that you had to evacuate this whole town?

Sheriff Kory Honea: I think the best way that I can characterize it is– it was outrunning us before we even knew we were in a race or what direction the race was gonna take us. It was dark. It seemed like it was nighttime because the smoke had blocked out the sun. Ash and embers were raining down. And as the fire grew closer, there was this real sense of it being Hell on Earth.

The sheriff quickly mobilized his deputies. Firefighters raced to defend the town but they were overwhelmed. The fire was too fast and too big.

Strike team 9231C found themselves driving straight into the inferno. The crew shot this video from the truck. Captain John Jessen was behind the wheel. He told us he’s seen many wildfires in his 24 years as a California state firefighter, but all paled compared to this.

Bill Whitaker: What made this one so different?

John Jessen: The fire front that was coming up the canyon was literally miles long and 200-foot flame lengths. It’s hard to describe how fast this fire was moving.

Residents fleeing the maelstrom had turned all routes out of Paradise into gridlocked death traps. The strike team got caught in the traffic jam.

Panicked people abandoned their cars. A sheriff’s deputy captured the chaos on his body cam. Four people made their way to the strike team truck, including Eva Walker.

Bill Whitaker: What was the fire doing at this point?

Eva Walker: The bushes were catching on fire. The trees were on fire. So you’re moving to get away from the flames. But there’s nowhere to move to.

She thought she’d been saved when the strike team pulled her into the truck. Captain Jessen made a desperate radio call for air support but the smoke was too thick, the winds too strong for help from above. Firefighter Casey Peck quietly started to pray.

Casey Peck: I was just thinking to myself, just praying like, “Please, Lord, be merciful. And– watch over us. Watch over our families.”

Bill Whitaker: You were praying for your life?

Casey Peck: Yeah.

Just then, through the darkness, two lights appeared. A firefighter driving a bulldozer responded to Jessen’s call for help and started clearing an escape route.

Eva Walker: And all of a sudden, the bulldozer who I swear to God is an angel, was the one who came through. I don’t know where that man came from. I mean, who does that? Who drives into the flames? He did.

Bill Whitaker: You called him an angel?

Eva Walker: Called him an angel. He saved all of us.

Her angel was bulldozer driver Joe Kennedy.

Joe Kennedy: So, I was taking the burning cars and pushing them off the road away from the people and the cars that weren’t on fire.

Sam Layton was behind Kennedy in another fire truck. Both opened their doors to let people in.

Sam Layton: It was a blessing and a curse to go to that fire. But I’m happy that I was there to help people.

Layton, Kennedy and the strike team took nine civilians to safety. Then turned around, went back in and saved more.

Joe Kennedy: There’s points where you’re scared or where you think, “I shouldn’t have come this far into the fire.” But at– at the same time, you have to keep going because lives and property are at stake.

Sheriff Kory Honea: We were in a situation where there weren’t enough fire engines and there weren’t enough law enforcement officers.

Bill Whitaker: The resources all overwhelmed by this fire?

Sheriff Kory Honea: Absolutely.

Bill Whitaker: How would you describe this fire?

Ken Pimlott: Apocalyptic.

Using this new tool, Ken Pimlott, chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire protection, showed us how fast the Camp Fire spread. Computerized projections on this 3D map chart the course of the fire.